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Girard, Marc-Amable
Marc-Amable Girard (25 avril 1822 - 12 septembre 1892) a été le premier franco-manitobain à être le Premier ministre du Manitoba.
Le guide parlementaire canadien indique que Girard a été le premier ministre (ou chef des ministres) de 1871 à 1872, mais il n'avait ce titre à ce moment-là et il n'était pas le chef du gouvernement. En 1874, cependant, Girard a été le premier à diriger le gouvernement du Manitoba selon les principes du gouvernement responsable. En ce sens, il peut être considéré comme le premier des premiers ministres du Manitoba.
Marc-Amable Girard a aussi été membre du Sénat du Canada (13 décembre 1871 - 12 septembre 1892). Voici un extrait de l'une de ses interventions en tant que sénateur.
« You have been asked by petitioners in all parts of the Dominion to protect the majority from the evils of the liquor traffic : I am asking you now to protect the minority in one of the provinces and in the territories from an encroachment upon their rights and privileges. It seems to me that it is the duty of every member of this House, if he finds a lack of harmony in the province from which he comes, to investigate the cause and to suggest a remedy… I must say that the present Government of Manitoba has dealt harshly with the French minority of the province… It is not necessary for me to enter into an argument, before a body that is so well disposed towards us as the Senate is, to show the importance of the French language. At the same time, I may say that we ask simple justice and we claim a right which should not have been contested in any way… Under the circumstances, we think we are justified in calling upon the Federal Government to come to our protection… There are people of French origin, not only in Manitoba, but throughout the North-West, who are waiting for justice, and they do not understand why they should have to wait so long for that to which they are fairly entitled. »
Débats du Sénat, 7e lég., 1re sess. (27 mai 1891, p. 42-43.
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Modification : 2017-04-30
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